A new study has found that an asteroid NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun. It's the first time that a celestial body's solar orbit was deliberately changed. Scientists reported Friday that the 2022 impact by the Dart spacecraft not only trimmed the asteroid's orbit around its bigger space rock companion, but also around the sun. Researchers say their findings could help divert an incoming killer space rock given enough advance notice. The study was published in Science Advances.
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Today is Friday, March 6, the 65th day of 2026. There are 300 days left in the year.
Former President Bill Clinton has finished his testimony before members of Congress for their investigation over convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The closed-door deposition ended after more than six hours of questioning from lawmakers about his connections to the disgraced financier. The Democratic former president said: “I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong.” That's according to an opening statement he shared on social media at the outset of the deposition. The deposition in Chappaqua, New York, marked the first time a former president has been compelled to testify to Congress. It came a day after Clinton’s wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat for her own deposition. Neither Clinton has been accused of any wrongdoing.
NASA is revamping its Artemis moon landing program. NASA's new administrator Jared Isaacman announced the shake-up in the flight lineup Friday, days after the space agency's new moon rocket returned to its Florida hangar for more repairs. Artemis II — a lunar fly-around by four astronauts — is off until at least April. The follow-up mission Artemis III had been targeting a landing near the moon's south pole by another pair of astronauts. But Isaacman says that mission will now focus on testing a lunar lander in orbit around Earth with astronauts aboard an Orion capsule in 2027. That would be followed by one and possibly two moon landings by astronauts in 2028.
NASA is moving its grounded Artemis moon rocket from the launch pad back to its hangar for more repairs. The 4-mile-long slow-motion trek began Wednesday morning at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It's expected to take all day. Managers ordered the rollback over the weekend after a problem developed with the rocket's helium pressurization system. Already delayed a month by hydrogen fuel leaks, the launch team had been targeting March for the Artemis II astronaut mission — humanity's first trip to the moon in decades. But now it's off until at least April.
NASA’s new moon rocket has suffered another setback, with astronauts’ lunar trip now off until spring. The next opportunity for humanity's first moonshot in more than half a century is April. The space agency revealed the latest problem on Saturday, a day after targeting March 6 for liftoff of the Artemis II mission. Officials say that overnight, the flow of helium to the rocket's upper stage was interrupted. Unrelated fuel leaks caused earlier delays. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says work to prepare for a possible return to the hangar means March is now out of consideration for a launch.
NASA aims to send astronauts to the moon in March after acing the latest rocket fueling test. Administrator Jared Isaacman says launch teams made “major progress” between the first countdown rehearsal that was disrupted by hydrogen leaks earlier this month and the second test that was completed without significant seepage Thursday night. NASA could launch four astronauts on the Artemis II mission as soon as March 6. To keep their options open, the three Americans and one Canadian plan to go into a two-week health quarantine Friday night.
AP Wire
NASA is taking another crack at fueling its giant moon rocket after leaks halted the initial dress rehearsal and delayed astronauts' first trip to the moon in more than half a century. Launch teams on Thursday began pumping more than 700,000 gallons of fuel into the rocket at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. It's the most critical and challenging part of the two-day practice countdown. The outcome will determine whether March is possible for the Artemis II lunar fly-around with four astronauts. Two weeks ago, dangerous amounts of liquid hydrogen escaped during the operation. NASA replaced two seals and a clogged filter.
AP Wire
The International Space Station is back to full strength with the arrival of four new astronauts. SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts to the orbiting lab on Saturday, a day after launching them. They are replacing a crew that bailed early last month because of health concerns. It was NASA's first medical evacuation in 65 years of human spaceflight. The orbiting lab is now back to seven residents, allowing spacewalks to proceed and research to pick back up. They are expected to remain on board for eight to nine months.
AP Wire
The replacements for the astronauts involved in NASA's first medical evacuation are on their way to the International Space Station. SpaceX launched the fresh crew on Friday from Florida. The four astronauts are representing the U.S., France and Russia and should reach the orbiting lab Saturday. They'll fill the vacancies left by their evacuated colleagues. NASA had to put spacewalks on hold and defer other duties after an unidentified astronaut experienced a serious medical issue in January. The entire crew returned to Earth more than a month early, leaving three astronauts in orbit.